The symbolism of Rock Bottom is that all growth comes with pain. We can’t spend our lives avoiding bad things from happening to us. We must condition ourselves to have an appropriate emotional response but learn to keep moving forward. He who suffers most knows himself most. Isn’t that the goal? To come to terms with ourselves? To accept who we are as is? To be at peace? Suffering is not bad, suffering is essential. The ego runs from suffering because it’s the death of the ego. Pain, adversity, failure, and loss serve as purification and preparation for personal heroism. To be reborn is to be willing to let our old selves die. Allowing our perception of who we used to be to die and no longer letting it dictate how we view ourselves today is an integral part of the growing process. We don’t have to live in the shadow of our old selves. We don’t have to stay the way people see us out of fear they won’t like who we want to be. We can live in who we are today.